it's not going to touch us and within three hours it's right on top of us. bottled water, generators and 300,000 peoples to north carolina and massachusetts. >> we could see watches and warnings continue to move up the east coast. that's why it's so important for residents to have an evacuation plan ready to go if the orders are called for. >> reporter: fema says residents from north carolina to maine should look out for storm surge. a moving wall of water that could do terrible things to low-lying areas, highlighted here in blue. this is cape cod. in the path of earl, and home to half a million summer residents. the winds have started to pick up. and the waves are certainly telling us tonight that something big is coming this way. if earl gets any closer, which everyone here hopes doesn't happen, there will be many more evacuations called tomorrow in many more places. >> as you told us, steve, these are crucial hours right now, and as those emergency teams just warned, the hurricane could speed up and turn towards shore on a dime. so, let's bring in sam cha